Has anyone post op ate carbs and lost weight?

Thank you boo! So very helpful!

I'm a 9 yr DSer and yes, your friend will still lose weight eating carbs right now.   We need carbs in our diet for instant energy, digestion and other bodily functions.  The key is being mindful not to eat too many, and there should be little room after eating protein.  If she's getting in her protein goals (100g was mine from the start, for for others at her point it would be 60-75g) and saving a couple of bites for something yummy, that's perfectly okay. 

Some people count their carbs, trying to stay under 50 each day, or 100 depending on their goals.  For me, I never counted carbs.  I just ate my protein first, then a couple of bites of veggies, and saved my last couple of bites for something I really wanted.  It could be bread, rice, or even chocolate cake.  My stomach was full so I was satisfied having a taste and because my stomach was full, I couldn't go butt-wild.  Suggest this to your friend to keep her from feeling deprived, and maybe her cravings will subside knowing she can have what she wants with this method.  Also invite her to join the DSers out on the DS page here, so we can answer any questions she has....especially on nutrition, for the surgeons and nutritionists really don't know what all we need, and we need more than their "wls folder" tells us.

 We need carbs in our diet for instant energy, digestion and other bodily functions.

I see this repeated a lot but it is simply not true. We do not need any carbs in our diet to function well. People can and do survive and thrive on nothing but meat and animal fat. I'm not saying I would like to, I like my vegetables as much as the next gardener, but you do not need carbs. You do not need them for digestion or brain function. There is nothing "essential" about a carbohydrate, in the sense that unlike fat and protein, your body can synthesize the glucose it needs without getting it from your diet.

Per the Mayo Clinic yes we do need some carbs in our diets.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/nutrition-and-healt hy-eating/in-depth/carbohydrates/art-20045705

Who thrives on nothing but meat and animal fat?  There are micronutrients not found in abundance in meat and animal fat.

DS nutrition is not the same requirements as VSG or Lap Band.  We absorb very little of what we take in (20-40%), EXCEPT for carbs.  So, not eating any carbs at all is not necessarily a good thing.  If we only ate 3000 calories each day of fats and proteins and no carbs, absorbed on the high end 40% that would be 1200 calories per day, fine during weight loss, but not necessarily for ever, so YES we do need a certain amount of carbs and it is essential.  I find that if I eat all my calories in fat and protein in a day, my brain function absolutely suffers, and it is quick energy (carbs) that gets me going again.  Telling a DS patient to not eat or never eat carbs because they are not necessary is bad advice. 

Now, limiting carbs is essential but mostly because they make you gassy and your friends and family will quickly become scarce for the evening :)

TY! I'm going to encourage her to joins this site everyone here is so very helpful 

I don't avoid carbs, really.  I just try to make my meals and snacks protein forward.  Once I do that, I don't have a lot of room for carbs.  One thing I have discovered though, for me, is that carbs beget more carbs.  My husband and I went to a B&B for our anniversary a couple of weeks ago and of course at dinner there was a basket of warm rolls.  I had a few bites and it was delicious.  The next morning there were croissants at breakfast.  Again, a few bites of buttery deliciousness.  For several days after that, I wanted bread:  wouldn't Italian bread go great with my skinny meatballs?  I think my falafel will taste better in a pita... 

Although I did not have the DS , as I had RNY I ate carbs in "moderation" and still lost 105lbs in 6 months POST OP. I know this sounds weird but I ate and count them "5" Doritos ( I would literally count out 5 doritos from a bag, my husband thought I was weird) and "1" Fun Size Twix every night for dessert. It kept me feeling not so deprived and I was able to sustain my weight loss and going on almost 5 years out. I ate heatlhy carbs every now and then with my proteins as well. Like lite dressing on salads, brown rice, etc.

Not weird at all to me!  I allow myself (if I want one -- and sometimes I actually don't) to have one under-100 calorie snack per day.  Most of the time it is in the form of a fun-size chocolate bar of a large on flu of Haagen  Dazs ice cream, but sometimes it is half of a lunchbox sized bag of chips, Doritos, pretzels, etc.

I love that I can have a small snack and be satisfied!  Now I can eat 6-10 M&Ms (I start with six and take 4 more if "needed", LOL) and close the bag back up.  Pre-op, I would finish the whole bag and then wish for another bag!

Lora